"The way" or "how"

[Rachel Adams]

Is my sentence correct? Should it be "how food looks" or "the way food looks"?

"I always think about colour when I am preparing a meal. How food looks is important for me." Or "The way food looks is important for me." But I never choose food for calories."

I added another sentence for more context. I mean I never choose food according to calories.

 

[emsr2d2]

Is my sentence correct? Should it be "how food looks" or "the way food looks"?

"I always think about colour when I am preparing a meal. How food looks is important for me." Or "The way food looks is important for me." But I never choose food for calories."

I added another sentence for more context. I mean I never choose food according to calories.

"How food looks ..." is fine. I would say "I never choose food based on calories/based on its calorie content".

 

[Rachel Adams]

"How food looks ..." is fine. I would say "I never choose food based on calories/based on its calorie content".

Is using "for" wrong? "I never choose food for calories."

 

[PaulMatthews]

Is my sentence correct? Should it be "how food looks" or "the way food looks"?

"I always think about colour when I am preparing a meal. How food looks is important for me." Or "The way food looks is important for me." But I never choose food for calories."

I added another sentence for more context. I mean I never choose food according to calories.

[1] The way food looks is important for me.

[2] %How food looks is important for me.

[1] is fine, with the underlined relative clause straightforwardly modifying "way".

But the use of "how" (meaning "the way that") in a 'fused' relative construction like [2] is only marginally acceptable, indeed frowned on by some speakers.

"How" is thus best reserved as a question word, as in How does the food look to you?

 

[emsr2d2]

Is using "for" wrong? "I never choose food for calories."

Yes, it's wrong.

 

[Yankee]

Is using "for" wrong? "I never choose food for its calories."

I prefer it with "its".